DU2032 Seminar: Architecture from 1945 to the present

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025

The course is not taught in Spring 2025

Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Martin Horáček, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
prof. PhDr. Jiří Kroupa, CSc. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
prof. PhDr. Jiří Kroupa, CSc.
Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
Course objectives
The objective of the course is gaining overview of architecture from 1940s to the present, and in the professional and lay debate as well. Important styles, authors and buildings in the world (expecially in Europe) and in Czechia are discussed in the lectures: brutalism, postmodernism, high-tech, minimalism, critical regionalism, traditionalism, deconstruction, and free-form architecture.
Learning outcomes
The successful student is able:
- to describe influential tendencies in architecture and architectural dicsourse from 1940s to the present;
- to evaluate a relevant building, its architectural qualities and heritage value if applicable;
- to write an essay focused on a period building using the language and methods of professional art and architectural historiography and critics.
Syllabus
  • 1. International style and brutalism in architecture of the 1950s;
  • 2. Postmodernism: R. Venturi, C. Jencks, R. Bofill;
  • 3. High-tech: R. Rogers, N. Foster, R. Piano;
  • 4. Deconstruction: P. Eisenman, B. Tschumi, Z. Hadid;
  • 5. Free-form architecture: F. Gehry, S. Calatrava;
  • 6. Critical regionalism: K. Frampton, R. Moneo;
  • 7. Traditionalism: Prince Charles, L. Krier, Q. Terry;
  • 8. Czech architecture from 1989 – "Czech austerity", free-form experiments;
  • 9. Architecture in Moravia from 1989, Brno as an architectural center;
  • 10. Contemporary "hot topics", mass production vs. "starchitecture", urban sprawl vs. urban renewal;
  • 11. Individual research;
  • 12. Presentations and classroom debates.
Literature
    required literature
  • Česká republika - moderní architektura. Edited by Michal Kohout - Rostislav Švácha. 1. vyd. Praha: Zlatý řez, 2014, 522 s. ISBN 9788090382602. info
  • HORÁČEK, Martin. Za krásnější svět. Tradicionalismus v architektuře 20. a 21. století (Toward a more beautiful world. Traditionalism in architecture of the 20th and 21st centuries). 1. vyd. Brno: Barrister & Principal; VUT v Brně, 2013, 447 pp. ISBN 978-80-214-4586-4. info
  • ŠVÁCHA, Rostislav. Česká architektura a její přísnost : padesát staveb 1989-2004. Vyd. 1. Praha: Prostor - architektura, interiér, design, 2004, 303 s. ISBN 8090325734. info
  • FRAMPTON, Kenneth. Moderní architektura : kritické dějiny. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2004, 457 s. ISBN 8020012613. info
    recommended literature
  • MALLGRAVE, Harry Francis Mallgrave; GOODMAN, David. An Introduction to Architectural Theory: 1968 to the Present. Chichester 2011.
  • Česká a slovenská architektura 1971-2011 : texty, rozhovory, dokumenty. Edited by Monika Mitášová - Jiří Ševčík. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze, Vědecko-výzkumné pracoviště ve spolupráci se Slovenskou národnou galériou v Bratislavě, Úsekom výskumu a rozvoja a Vysokou školou výtvarných umení v Bratislavě, Centrom výskumu, 2013, 954 s. ISBN 9788087108284. info
  • ŠVÁCHA, Rostislav and Marie PLATOVSKÁ. Dějiny českého výtvarného umění V 1939/1958. Praha: Acadamea, nakladatelství Akademie věd České republiky, 2005, 525 pp. ISBN 80-200-1390-3. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, class discussion, individual assignments and essays.
Assessment methods
1. Written test verifying the knowledge based on lectures and required reading.
2. Evaluation of an essay on the selected period building.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught only once.
The course is taught: every week.
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